Improvement in the manufacture of bungs



BENJAMIN D. SANDERS, OF WELLSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA.

Letters Patent No. 90,690, dated J lure 1, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BUNGS.

The Schedule referred me in these Letters Patent and making part of thename.

To all who-writ may concern:

Be it ,known that I, BENJAMIN-D. Sannnns, of Wellsburg, in the county ofBrooke, and State of .Vest Virginia, have invented a new and useful1mprovement in the Manufacture of Bun'gs, Plugs, and Taps; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescriptionthereof, reference being'bad to the accompanying drawing, making a partof this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of my machine;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the same;

Figure 3 shows a section through x-z, fig. 1;

Figure 4 shows, in perspective, my invention in a somewhat modifiedform;

Figure 5 is a cross-section through ai -x, fig. 4; and

Figure 6 is a perspective view of my finished taperbung. v

Bungs'for barrels have heretofore been generally made'by turning themout to the shape desired, or by cutting the blanks with a cylindricalchisel. and reducing such blanks to the desired taper-form by pressingthem in a hollow cup-shaped die.

As distinguished from such modes of giving to a bung the desiredtaper-form, my improvement consists in rolling the bung-blank on itsaxisbetween bevelbott-om grooves, which grooves may be either straightor curvedlongitudinally, and in which the bottoms of the grooves areconverging both longitudinally and transversely the degree of transverseconvergence increasing from one end to the other.

My invention furthermore consists in the construction and use of amachine for rolling taper-bungs, taps, and jar-covers, 8m, in which thebung, tap, 850., is reduced from a cylindrical 'or other form in whichit-is cut, to a taper-form, by passing it along longitudinally andtransversely-converging grooves, and also in a rolled taper-bung, as anew article of manufacture.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction and mode of operation.

Ais a segmental wheel or roller-plate, having a concave face, andadjusted in the frame B. Extending longitudinally along its inner faceis a groove, a, the bottom of the groove being bevelled or inclined,that is to say, deeper at one side than at the other.

. A roller-wheel, A, is hung to the frame B, inside the concave of theroller-plate A, and eccentric with it, so that the aperture z,"hetweenthe two, at onev side, shall be larger than the aperture 2, at the otherside.

The periphery of the wheel A has a groove, (1, extending around it, thebottom of the groove being bevelled or inclined in like manneras'bcfore, but-in the opposite direction.

Angle-shaped cleats b b are attached to the opposite ends of theroller-plate A, and by these is rendered adjustable on the frame B, soas to increase or lessen the eccentricity of it with reference to thewheelA'.

By loosening the set-screws in the slot 0, the rollerplate A is movedlaterally either way, and by a setscrew, e, the plate A is raised orlowered.

\ Motion is communicated to the wheel A by a bandwheel, 0.

The axle 0' runs in any suitable bearings on the frame B.

The operation of the machine is as follows:

The bung-blanks being cut of cylindrical shape, they are fed, one afteranother, in as close succession as may be desired, at the aperture 2:.

The plate A and wheel A must be so adjusted at this point that thedistance between the bottoms of the grooves aa' shall be at least equalto the diameter of the bung-blanks fed in.

From this point around to the other aperture, 2,

the bottoms of the grooves aa. converge gradually, so that at theaperture z, which is the place for the exit of the finished bungs D, thedistance between the bottoms of the rooves a a, at any point, shall beequal to the diameter of the corresponding part of the bung D.

The bungs D are then turned out at the aperture z, rolled to thetaper-form desired.

The smaller end is gradually compressed between the inclined bottoms ofthe converging grooves a a, and the cylindrical blank fed'in at z isgradually compressed and rolled into the taper-bung D. The sides of thegrooves a a keep the bung-blanks in place while they are being rolled.

The dotted lines in fig. l are designed to show the depth of theopposite sides of the grooves.

The inclination of the grooves is shownin figs. 2 and 3.

My invention is further shown, in. a somewhat modificd form, in figs. 4and 5.

A box-shaped frame, E, then takes the place of the frame B, beforedescribed.

The upper part of the box has a groove, 8, with inclined bottom, similarto the groove a,-alre ady de-. scribed, except, that longitudinally itis straight instead of curved.

Directly under this groove s is a. slide, F, which works back and forth,and in the upper face of which is a groove, s, also having an inclinedbottom, similar to the groove 11, except that it also is straight.

The grooves s s are made, with reference to each other, in the manneralready described, as well in other respects as in the fact that theyapproach each other from the front aperture, when the bung-blanks arefed in, toward the rear aperture, which is their place of exit, in afinished state.

A reciprocating motion is imparted to the slide F by any suitable orwell-known devices. I

As it commences its forward stroke, cylindrical bungblanks are fed in,which, rolling along through, are rolled down to the taper-form shown infig. 6,bet-ween the inclined bottoms of the converging grooves s s.

After the bnngs pass out at the rear aperture, the slide F makes itsreturn or backward stroke, and the operation is repeated.

The distinctive feature of this invention consists in the fact that thebungs are reduced to the desired taper-form by rolling, instead of bypressing; and since the compressing is done gradually, and on thedifferent sides of the bung-blank, in continuous and rapid succession,and since the compressing-force acts nearly or exactly at right anglesto the axis of the bung-blank, instead of in the line of its axis, asheretofore, the grain of the wood is subject to less fracture ordisturbance, the compression is more uniform on all sides, and a bung isproduced of superior quality and better finish. The machinery is cheaplyconstructed and easily operated. As described, the grooves may be curvedor straight. The motion may be rotary or reciprocating, and, if sopreferred, the bottoms of the stationary grooves may be flat atthe,feed-apertures, in which case the bevel or incline may commence at,and increase from that point to the point of exit, where the inclinationshould be that of the sides desired in the bung.

I apply my invention to rolling not only bungs, but also corks, taps,jar-covers, and other like articles.

I am aware that corrugated converging surfaces,

without grooves, are used in metal squeezers; also,

that metallic disks have been rotated on their axes, between groovedsurfaces, for the purpose of milling their edges, and such devices, bythemselves, I do not claim, especially since neither of them wouldoperate to reduce a non-metallic cylindrical blank to a taperform.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-- l. The mode of making buugs, plugs, taps, and jarcovers, by themeans substantially as herein shown and described.

2. Two longitudinally-converging grooved surfaces, made with the bottomsof the grooves bevelled or inclined in opposite directions, so as tooperate in re- (lacing, by compression, a cylindrical blank to ataperform, substantially in the manner described.

3. A grooved segmental roller-plate, A, adjustable in a frame, B,substantially as described, so as to increase or lessen the eccentricityof the grooved Wheel A, with reference thereto, for the purposes setforth.

4. A rolled taper-bung, made substantially as described, as a newarticle of manufacture.

In testimony whereof I, the said BENJAMIN D SANDERs, have hereunto setmy band.

B. D. SANDERS. Witnesses: Y

ELL TORRANGE, G. HJGHRIsTY.

